Meeting of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission of the two countries in Baku was chaired by the Prime Ministers of Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The participants of the 8th meeting of the commission discussed ways for further deepening bilateral economic ties, increasing the trade turnover, and expanding energy relations.
As the Head of Georgian Government emphasized, Azerbaijan is not just Georgia's friend and neighboring country, but also one of its key strategic partners. It is commendable that the meeting of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission, Irakli Garibashvili pointed out, resumes after a 10-year pause, as agreed by the partied during Garibashvili's recent official visit to Baku.
"It is a great honor to be in Baku, in our friend state and neighboring country of Azerbaijan, one truly close to my heart. It is my second visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan this year. Allow me to reminisce about our productive meeting during my previous visit; and, as we agreed that time, now we are holding the 8th meeting of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission, a very important event to our countries. Because of various factors and circumstances, the commission has not convened in 10 years. But now I am excited to see that-after we discussed it, agreed, and followed it by action-now we are here together within the commission's framework. Azerbaijan is not just Georgia's friend and neighboring country, but also one of its key strategic partners, our country's main trade and economic partner. We truly appreciate our bilateral relations. Our trade, economic cooperation is developing. In terms of investments, Azerbaijan has been an undisputed leader in our country for years. Today, I had an opportunity hold a very productive meeting with President Ilham Aliyev. Among others, we discussed economic cooperation, and agreed on the necessity to deepen and strengthen this direction even further, to double our trade turnover, and ensure greater investments.
Our excellent cooperation, besides trade and economy, encompasses virtually all directions, be it humanitarian or cultural. Allow me to emphasize the enormous assistance we have received from Azerbaijan, our friends, throughout the pandemic, for which I publicly thank you.
In recent years, we have had significant progress across all areas, but I believe that untapped potential is far more considerable, and we must make full use of it. Today's meeting offers a good opportunity to revisit all ongoing issues and make future plans," Irakli Garibashvili said.
Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, thanked the Head of Georgian Government for visiting Baku and participating in the Intergovernmental Economic Commission's meeting.
According to Ali Asadov, the second visit of the Georgian Prime Minister in such a short period bears witness to the high level of Georgia-Azerbaijan relations.
"Honorable Mister Prime Minister, welcome to Azerbaijan! It is your second visit to Azerbaijan in a very short period, and that testifies to the high level of Georgia-Azerbaijan relations. Our meeting and conversation during your previous meeting made a lasting impression on me. High-level ties and bilateral relations play a significant role in the development of our relations. For centuries, the Georgian and Azerbaijani nations have lived together in friendship and maintained good neighborly relations. As you know, next year marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia. Our relations, grounded in mutual trust and support, are developing in leaps and bounds in the era of independence to have reached the level of strategic partnership. Our countries maintain an active political dialogue, and Azerbaijan and Georgia are supporting each other in international organizations. In times of hardship, we are always there for each other. I would like to single out the Azerbaijanis living in Georgia and the Georgians in Azerbaijan, who play a vital role in the development of our relations. Mister Prime Minister, we prize your position and attention to this issue. Azerbaijan ascribes enormous importance to developing and cementing its cooperation with Georgia. Our relations are at a high level in every direction, especially in the areas of trade and economy, energy, transport, transit, investments, and humanitarian issues. We have jointly implemented numerous large-scale energy and transport projects that boost our economic capabilities further. Our countries play an important role in the region's development, ensuring Europe's energy independence. At the same time, we have excellent opportunities to further our cooperation in the areas of digital economy, agriculture, information and communication technology, healthcare, and others. To tap into these opportunities, it was absolutely necessary to convene a meeting of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission. For various reasons, the commission was unable to hold meetings for some time. At our meeting during your recent visit, we underscored this issue, and to speed up the process, gave necessary instructions to respective state institutions. This commission is an important platform for bilateral economic relations. And I am glad that we are holding this meeting today, Mister Prime Minister. I am confident that our conversations, decisions to be made, and documents to be signed will promote deeper relations between our countries. I am also convinced that your visit will be a success making a tremendous contribution to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia," Ali Asadov concluded.
